A Test to Find Fakes On eBay

 Post Gazette

A Gucci wallet for $120. A Burberry scarf for $32. A pair of Tiffany earrings for $35. If prices like that for some of the hottest luxury brands seem unreal, it very well may be because the goods themselves aren’t real.

The estimated multibillion-dollar counterfeit market has become a major headache for the luxury-product industry — and for unwary consumers. Though many fakes are sold in stores, others wind up listed on auction Web sites such as those of eBay Inc., Yahoo Inc. and Overstock.com Inc., bearing attention-grabbing low prices.

Companies are stepping up their efforts to protect their brands by hiring attorneys and private investigators, and buying software programs to patrol eBay and other sites for fraudulent listings. Some investigations have led to arrests, and many have led to lawsuits. Tiffany & Co. filed a lawsuit against eBay in 2004, alleging that only 5 percent of the Tiffany items it bought through the site were authentic.

To find out what recourse people have when buying counterfeit goods through an online auction, we purchased five designer items on eBay, the leading auction site, at bargain prices for goods sellers advertised as being authentic: Chloe and Fendi handbags, a Gucci wallet, Tiffany earrings and a Burberry scarf. Finding the items was easy — a search for any designer’s name turned up dozens of results, with prices ranging from as little as 10 percent of the retail price to as much as full price. We picked the listings with the best deals from sellers who had mostly positive feedback and who guaranteed the authenticity of the products.